Domino
by Janazza
Summary: Bakugo rolled his eyes for the eleventh fucking time at these dumbasses. Izuku doesn't have a Quirk. Luck isn't a fucking Quirk. Or is it?
1. Chapter 1

Inko didn't read much into it. Whenever her son wanted something, fate tended to work in his favor. The ice cream he wanted landed in his hands as if it fell from the sky. Contest for Hero merch tended to land in his favor, and she figured few people must have entered each time. The last pair of shoes in his size were on sale, then he found a hundred bill on the ground only to watch the news the night that a bank nearby had been robbed earlier and they escaped down the same road the Midoriya's use on the way to the closest grocer. One thing after another.

But he never hiccuped fire like his father or pulled his dishes towards him before they could fall like his mother. He hopped between the couch and chairs in hopes of flight, tried to pick up the dining table to test his strength.

The doctors weren't much help in the beginning either.

"He's healthy and shows signs for a Quirk to come in. It's possible he simply has an 'invisible' Quirk. Something that's difficult to trigger due to very specific standards needing to be met or it's just not obvious. Whatever it is, it probably isn't physical based off his results. His cells act normally and none of his organs seem unusual. I don't know, Ma'am."

"So it's just a guessing game," Inko stated.

"Indeed. Looking through your ancestry can provide hints. Otherwise, he will be deemed Quirkless in his registration until I or another paediatrician believe they've discovered his Quirk."

Quirkless?

But he watched those hero videos religiously.

She stepped out into the lobby where her son was supposed to be sat, only to find him smiling and asking a flustered woman at the front desk about her coral like hair.

"If it grows at will, how far can it go? Can you choose the direction or is it all over? If you could control a criss-cross-applesauce pattern, you could make, like a whole big, cage. Or ladder!"

He would never be able to help people like he wants to.

* * *

"Luck isn't a Quirk!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it isn't!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it isn't!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it isn't!"

"No, it isn't!"

"Yes, it is!"

"Ha! Thanks, Kacchan!"

"Shut up!"

* * *

She didn't believe him. Not at all. Not with every scrape and scratch he came home with after school and every play date.

"Mom, I tested it! My Quirk has to be luck!"

She didn't believe him for a long time. She thought it was wishful thinking from a desperate boy still grasping at his dream of heroism.

It didn't make sense in their family tree for his Quirk to be luck. But once he pointed it out, she saw it everywhere.

Stores are never out of anything for him.

Winning his school's raffles all the time.

Finding a hundred dollar bill on the ground.

She didn't believe him until they stood in line to check out and the scratch-offs looked oddly tempting.

She let her son pick which ones.

They won the lottery.

_Twice._

* * *

Wow, he couldn't believe it. It was so much bigger in person! The grounds' gate towered over him, a skyscraper of their own, and a fence line that stretched on like a national border. And those white pearly gates opened up for judgement day.

It's the day of the U.A. entrance exams. A chill swept through him like he just fell into a river. Adjusting his backpack, he strode forward, his shoulders back and barely containing his excitement, a pep in his step and a high like he was on cloud 9.

That is, until he tripped on his shoelaces and tumbled forward, planning to make his face a nice sidewalk pancake.

_Guess my luck's come to an end._

Except he didn't become a pancake. His nose didn't even touch the ground.

"Ah, sorry! I should have asked to use my Quirk on you, but I figured you wouldn't mind!"

Nice. Something told him this day was gonna turn out really well.

* * *

"That kid, what's his Quirk?"

Instantly, Nedzu perked up from his chair. "That's Midoriya Izuku." Aizawa noted the lack of candidate number and straight to names. "His Quirk: Luck. According to his forms, good fortune occurs particularly for him."

"You're joking." Aizawa scoffed. While he wouldn't partake in the grading of the assessment, similarly to All Might, he wanted to get a look at his potential students. And to be frank, he wasn't seeing much of it considering the literal forgeries. "So if he manages to stare a robot into falling apart, he gets a point?"

"Actually," All Might spoke up beside him. Even in his deflated form, as Hizashi coined it, the man's gate demanded attention. "I ran into him a few months back. I promise you, he has literal luck on his side." Aizawa filed that tidbit away to ask at another time.

"There's no way, you're telling me. . . " The man trailed off, his eyes glued to the screen unblinking, but not because of his Quirk. No, because the plain looking boy barely bothered dodging the bullets raining towards him, every single one missing but hitting the robot behind the boy and getting it's attention. But when the second robot rushed forward, its ruined bullet-holed tracks sent it straight into the streetlight of the false city.

The boy had already left his cover running towards a three pointer.

Timber! The streetlight went down on the two pointer just right to implode. And the flying debris knocked the three-pointer's outer plating to reveal the sensitive wiring, to which the Midoriya boy merely gave a good jab with the approved rubber insulated staff he brought with him to deactivate it.

"Did he know he was fighting robots?"

"Maybe he's just lucky and chose the right weapon."

The tired man glared at the number one hero. "Shut up." Chances were the big oof let something slip.

"Ugh, boys," Kayama chimed in, "There's other contestants that need grading. Keep it down."

The boy only stopped when a three pointer stood in his way, but seemingly out of nowhere, a beam of light shot right through it. From another camera, Shota saw a blonde examinee had tripped on his own feet and released his Quirk.

Ishiyama scratched his cement head, the grinding sounding absolutely atrocious for the others' ears. "Does that count as Midoriya's points or the Aoyama boy?"

"See?" Aizawa pointed at the screen. "Now we're talking technicalities. It's obviously the other student's point because luck isn't a Quirk."

Midoriya climbed on top of the mess of the three pointer and pulled off a boomerang shaped piece of metal. _There's no way-_ Shota was proved wrong as the sheet of metal was thrown and curved to take out a two pointer's legs, careening the unsteady bot into the building behind it, which brought it crumbling down on the trailing one pointers and building a makeshift staircase out of their bodies and debris for Midoriya.

Nedzu grinned ear to ear, which is terrifying already considering he's a rodent. "I think it's time to spice things up, don't you think." On the console before him sat a classic red button that simply read "Big Boy." He slammed his paw on it with all the force he could muster. "Let's see how he handles this."

This wasn't even about the other contestants anymore. Nedzu had his own agenda.

The ricochet of each stomp of its feet shook the observation cameras. Kan radioed Recovery Girl along with several other medical staff who sat just outside of the testing grounds awaiting the chaos about the incoming injuries.

All contestants paused in the act, staring in awe at the colossal robot. For a second, no one moved, no one breathed as its looming figure stared down at them.

Then they scattered like cockroaches beneath its feet.

They dodged and sprinted towards the corners or exits of the city. As concrete crumbled under its steps, student's clambered for safety in waves. Everyone for themselves.

But one boy stopped, witnessing a girl who couldn't run stuck beneath a fallen beam. She was in the path of the Goliath's feet.

He made a 180 towards the trapped student and the towering bot.

What sort of luck could help him now?

Maybe it'll stall out, its targeting system unable to hone on anything.

But that wasn't point worthy, so what then?

Midoriya booked it right for the robot that had been only feet from stomping on him.

Then he saw it.

* * *

Izuku would never forget how he managed to break Kacchan's arm wanting to make a tree bridge that crossed a small creek snap under his feet.

* * *

He barely saw it through the frizzy film of the examinees. It was like a flicker, a hair or scratch on the tape, but for just a few moments, Midoriya's right arm took a darker hue. And a foreboding shiver ran down Aizawa's spine.

The boy didn't stop charging at the bot.

Is he crazy?

He leapt up, barely climbing the foot of the robot, and placed his right palm against the humming metal.

Then nothing.

He expected the thing to explode.

But the Midoriya boy jumped off and started running towards the girl without even looking back.

Then the groan of metal blared like a siren, forcing all students to pause and look back at the halted goliath, its frame shaking. Midstep, it held itself as the light bulbs that made up its face blew out.

Then in a gutteral echo, the whine of metal bent and howls of wind soared as one of its arms waned until like a car crash the metal buckled as it fell to concrete and asphalt.

Then the other arm fell and then the entire torso with a shockwave nearly blasting away any leftover students.

And at its feet stood an unharmed Midoriya attempting to lift the debris off of the trapped girl. It missed them entirely.

Nedzu, the principal of UA, looked over to the awed professors and zeroed in on the one who held such little faith.

"Would you call that beginner's luck?"

* * *

"Are you okay?"

The girl from before had stood wide eyed before switching to a look of annoyance. "Okay as I can be."

"Oh, right. Let me help you." He knelt beside her and pulled at the debris surrounding her before gripping the large beam that had fallen. "Sorry, for making you wait— uh, ooah—Ah!" He let out a sharp cry nearly dropping the whole weight back onto her.

"Are you okay?"

Pain laced his voice. "Yep, just pulled a muscle."

She deadpanned, "Pulled a muscle? You took down that huge robot and you got a pulled muscle."

He smiled, though it wasn't very convincing. "Uraraka right? I'm Midoriya." He started his work again, hiding back a whimper.

The bad luck would wear off in a while.

He just had to dodge several blocks of very unstable buildings. No big deal.

* * *

He dragged himself home with an ache expanding his whole body that he guised under a casual walk. All he wanted to do was finish the last of his school work for the end of the middle school term and nap until morning.

Except mom stood in the kitchen with the stench of broccoli in the air. He hates broccoli.

He knew exactly what was coming and worried on his escape plan.

She had turned towards the front door before he could even close it, her arms crossed and a scowl uglying her face. "What took you so long?"

"Oh, I didn't realize It was so late and I really wanted to finish getting the fridge across the beach that I didn't even notice the time. You know me, clumsy and in my own world—."

"Funny you say that, because I went down there with lunch a while back and the beach was already clean. You finished weeks ago."

"I started another beach cleanup."

"I could barely get you to start the first one. You went to the entrance exams."

He'd been caught.

"Last time I checked, you were cleaning that beach to build character, not so you can apply for UA."

A deer in the headlights, Izuku waited for the crash.

She searched his eyes, looking for something. "You know why you can't go there."

He gulped down his anxiety. This wasn't the first time it's been brought up, but he thought she never believed he would ever actually apply. "I don't want to hide anymore."

He stayed silent waiting for the backlash, but instead she leaned down in front of him to see past his bangs. "Why would you lie to me, baby?"

"I'm sorry, mom, but… I just want to be a hero."

"After everything?"

"After everything," he confirmed.

"The world is going to see you." Her hands clutched at her chest, at the silver locket he knew she hid beneath her shirt.

"I know. But I don't want to hide anymore. I want to-" he hesitated. The words were at the tip of his tongue. "I don't want to regret this for the rest of my life."

"Okay." She exhaled deeply. "Okay," she repeated. "I don't want you to feel like a prisoner. I've always wanted you to be happy."

"Does that mean I can go to UA? If I get in, I mean."

"Yah, yah you can."

She thought of how proud her husband would be of their son.


	2. Chapter 2

Katsuki was seeing things.

"How the hell did Quivering Deku get here?!" How did he get past the gates?

The said boy waved. "Hi, Kacchan."

"You're Quirkless," he stated.

"Not."

"Are too."

"Definitely not."

"Wannabe."

"Smartass."

"FUCK OFF!" When the boy sparked his palms and ready a strike at Midoriya, white straps circled his arms and pulled him back towards-

How did a homeless man get in here? Do they just let anyone in here?!

"Please behave on your first day of school. Now head to the locker rooms and suit up. It's time to test out your Quirks."

Oh shit, _that's _a teacher?!

He watched as Deku followed robodude and roundface toward the locker rooms with the rest of the class in tow.

He didn't get it. Why wasn't this homeless teacher shit kicking out stupid Deku? Luck wasn't a fucking Quirk. Why were they believing this horseshit?

The students gave the fuming teen a wide berth.

* * *

Aizawa wondered if saving the boy from getting punched is considered lucky. No, that's absurd. He couldn't let his students deck it out on the first day even if he wanted to prove this problem child wrong.

But so far that wasn't going too well.

His opponent tripped on their own feet, leading Izuku to finish first in the 100 meter dash and overall placing decently.

Nothing helped him with push ups, but he still managed just below average for the boys' scores.

The grip test had to be rigged. Midoriya's equipment continuously malfunctioned showing numbers even higher than the Shoji boy's. Giving him a different one led the equipment to breaking all together.

Maybe his real Quirk is related to technology, Aizawa thought. It'd explain how well he did at the entrance exam. Or maybe it's mechanical degradation considering the analysis on the zero-pointer suggested it merely fell apart due to faulty screws and old buckling metal.

Then came the ball throw.

Izuku seemed to ponder this, taking his time looking out over the grassy fields as if luck could give him super strength. Maybe it could. The boy turned to his teacher and Aizawa held his breath. "So as long as I'm using my Quirk, my score counts, right? Even if that includes using the things around me?"

Aizawa wasn't sure what Midoriya meant, but he shrugged. He doubted there was any way he could get "lucky" on the ball throw to beat any records. "Sure."

"Okay. Sorry, Uraraka." The boy turned towards the class, arm pulled back.

_Oh my god. _

"Wait no!-" she raised her arms and blocked the ball with her hands, only to bounce off and right for-

_Are you kidding me— _

"DIE!"

Bakugo sent the ball straight out, a good part of it charred from what Aizawa could see, and in time his distance meter read "infinite."

The Uraraka girl and Bakugo. What would even be the probability of that working? The projectory? The reaction time? All the girl did was blindly swat it just fortunately in the smouldering brat's direction.

He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

He heard the Midoriya boy apologizing and admitting he didn't mean to throw it that hard. The Bakugo boy was trying to hit him again.

He could expel him right then. Cheating. Interference. Anything. He could make this school year so much easier with just a word.

A sigh escaped him along with the rest of his sanity.

_He's going to be the death of me. _

* * *

A shatter of flimsy particle board walls.

"Stop moving!"

An explosion that singed his hair.

"Stop aiming for my head!"

Blast after blast on the building's walls. Crumbling to pieces, the litter ground became a tripping hazard for anyone except Midoriya. And the more he missed and slipped in dust and dry wall, the more pissed Bakugo became.

"Fine, dodge this!" Pulling the pin on his gauntlet, Izuku barely heard their instructor's shouting before the blast blocked out everything.

The ringing in his ears wouldn't stop. He thought All Might might have asked him a question, but he was currently a bit preoccupied.

And a false grin splayed across his face, scraping his hands against the ground as he stood back up. "Bet you couldn't do it twice."

"Fuck you." He raised him arms ready to pull the pin just as Izuku charged him, then, using the hill of crumble wall and partial ceiling, jumped. The projection sent him just over Bakugo's head and the other boys arm followed, eyes focused only to squeeze shut as Deku flicked the debris into the other boy's eyes.

Bakugo released his attack blindly.

The blast richoted the building again, this time running through the floors above his head, right beneath the villain bomb and as loud as snapping trees bringing the whole thing crumbling down.

Bakugo didn't have time to think, just jumped out of the way before it could crush him. And he failed to see the capture tape or that Midoriya was still even on that floor.

"Thanks, Kacchan!" He pressed his hand to the fake bomb.

"Hero team wins!"

Bakugo, still in a daze, looked up at the smug grin of that Useless Deku, who called up to Round Face in excitement.

All Might was calling them back to the entrance.

He lost.

To a Quirkless Deku.

* * *

"Midoriya, a word."

His friends looked on as their friend halted in front of Mr. Aizawa's desk, the door closing on them as the last students trailed off to lunch.

"I wanted to discuss your most recent test."

"Ah, yes?"

"I know you work hard. You study between periods and your backpack is barely holding itself together. So why then are you leaving answers blank on a multiple choice test sheet? Have you never done one?"

"Oh! Sorry, sir, I don't want you to think I'm not trying."

"You have a 25% chance of getting it right if you fill in the sheet, so why wouldn't you?"

"That's just it though. I- Uh," he pondered fiddling with his fingers unable to make eye contact. "I don't really have control of my Quirk. If I closed my eyes and filled out the sheets, I'd probably get at least an 80% correct rate. It's not perfect, but my Quirk can make it hard to, y'know, actually learn anything? A-and, that's not fair. . . To all of you. To my classmates. So- uh, I just don't fill in the questions that I genuinely don't know, even if I'm debating between two answers. I want my scores to reflect my work ethic, not my ability to cheat around systems that were made to keep it fair in the first place."

Aizawa thought on his response and the implications. "I'm guessing you're on some government blacklist?"

"Oh, yah. That's actually how we figured out my Quirk. Mom took me to get lottery tickets and we won twice. 'Course, they confiscated it after since I had an unfair advantage. I'm not allowed to gamble or enter random chance contest. Kind of like how Kacchan can't go on an airplanes in case he sparks. I can try to get it appealed, but my percentage of 'luck' has to be beneath a specific threshold in their test. Of course, if you know the rules and know what they're looking for, surely it's easy to slip pass the basic mechanics when you have luck specifically to getting your way. Human interpretation has to be a factor and maybe a proctor can veto no matter the results if they deem the Quirk unfair like you would with a driver's test.—"

"Kid, I think I get it."

"Oh, sorry."

* * *

"Y'know Midoriya, you're Quirk is very interesting," said Tsuyu matter of factly.

_I swear, if she says it reminds her of All Might, I'm dropping out. _He didn't care if he had to barrel roll out of the moving bus, he wasn't dealing with that.

"It reminds me of Lady Luck."

Mina perked up from her seat. "Like the goddess Fortuna!"

_Please, no. _

"Guess he's got Lady Luck on his side."

"Lady Killer." When Kaminari doubled over from someone elbowing him in the gut, he wheezed, "_worth it._"

Sero sniggered behind his phone. "I mean he's halfway to a leprechaun, don't you think?"

_My life is a sitcom. _

* * *

"My Quirk," Thirteen says, "while it is powerful, has the ability to be both supportive and dangerous. It's why we train for so long in so many scenarios to ensure that we are able to handle the job. Not always is our Quirk best suited, but in others, it is detrimental to a plan." Surely, Thirteen smiled beneath the suit. "You will be put into teams and sent to different zones to save hostages. Work together. You'll be graded by your cooperation and success."

Sweet.

Kirishima turned to him as they begun chatting with their teams. "What is your Quirk exactly? I mean, I get it's luck, but what's the extent of it?"

He wasn't the first and definitely not the last to ask, though one of the few with no sarcasm. He can't deny it's a nice change of pace not having to defend himself. "I mean, luck isn't the easiest thing to explain, but it can come in different forms. For me, it's kind of like all the circumstances of the day work in my favor, like because a store manager bought too much of my favorite ice cream, I get extra scoops for free, then a random chance pick to win the powerball just happens to be my number over and over."

Barrelling into the back of Kirishima, Sero asked, "So when we go to Vegas, we're bringing you, right?"

"Oh! I'm not legally allowed to gamble. I'm on the blacklist."

"There's a blacklist—"

Cut off by Uraraka's voice, the boys turned to hear her say, "Hey, what's that?" as she pointed further into the U.S.J.

They looked to see, noticing the swelling black mist in front of the fountain.

Aizawa was planning to face all of them on his own.

This was _bad _. He didn't even know where to start. They were being guided out of the facility, but his eyes never left Eraserhead's form, diving right into the middle of the chaos.

He didn't even see the mist that swallowed him up until he was drowning.

* * *

"I can't leave without making some sort of mark, Kurogiri." Shigaraki scratched at his neck before pausing, a cruel thought popping into his head. "Maybe I should leave them with a little gift," He reached outwards the reeds of the false lake's bankment. "A sign to never cross me."

When his fingers grasped the boy's face, he didn't even flinch, but stared bored over the palm then sniffed. "Your hand is sweaty. And smells like beef."

"What?" He looked back to Eraserhead's glowing eyes (_ So cool) _, giving the boy the perfect opportunity to wrench the villain's hand back in an unnatural angle and Shigaraki howled. Before he could reach out to the little shit, a tongue (yes, a tongue) wrapped around his torso and knocked the wind out of him with its speed and tossed him. He barely got his breath back before he flopped into the water with an agonizing _Splat! _

"Nice throw, Tsuyu."

"It's Tsu."

* * *

Later sitting in his hospital bed, Aizawa would debate once again if waking up just in time to stop Shigaraki from completely obliterating his student's face would fall under luck.

* * *

That thing isn't even human.

The Noumu stood taller than All Might. It's brain protruded like a zombie and it's mannerism suited the theme.

It would crack Aizawa's skull like an overripe fruit.

Izuku didn't see any other options.

He stood before Shigaraki, his menacing red eyes staring down the boy before waving his hand at the Noumu. It dropped his teacher who wasn't moving. But he couldn't think about that, not now, not with it watching him. Shigaraki must have been smirking behind the severed hand as he gave the Noumu its order.

Pointed at Izuku with his bent and broken fingers. "Break him."

He thought of the biting cold, of sizzling skin, and hurricanes sweeping into his palm. The feeling swelled and he knew if he looked down, his left hand would be black as if frostbitten.

When it charged at him with a speed Izuku couldn't comprehend, he placed his blackened palm to the dirt, then the darkness left his hand.

For a moment he thought it didn't work, and suddenly the Noumu stood before him with nothing preparing him for the loss of air, the sudden nothingness as every oxygen atom escaped his lungs and his chest concaved like a pop can.

But beyond the cracking of his own ribcage, the shock of the rumbling earth splitting in just a matter to reveal a sink hole so deep as to swallow the beast whole could be heard, and the aching thumping of his heart pounding on shattered ribs echoed his wheezing of relief that his Quirk held out.

If only he could stay conscious long enough to give All Might a smug look when he cut off his own signature line at the growing faults that knocked the villains across the USJ off balance and separating them from the students as buildings crumbled and the water zone drained out swallowing some villains between the cracks.

If only Izuku could catch his breath.


	3. Chapter 3

Izuku woke to white walls and white sheets. The crumbling of a snack bag made his stomach growl and attracting the attention of-

Oh, Mr. Aizawa, who was covered in head to toe with bandages. He took out a pretzel stick and crunched on it loudly. "Problem child."

"You rang?" he croaked. "How long has it been?"

Aizawa ignored him and asked, "You remember anything?"

"Just saving your ass."

"You're not funny."

Izuku thought it was funny and he wasn't in his right mind to know cursing in front a teacher isn't so appropriate. Whatever painkillers they gave him did wonders. He smiled though it hurt. "Villains attacked our class. We all got separated. Monster tried to crack your skull like an egg."

"And successfully cracked your ribs and then some."

"Sucks to not be an enhancer."

"You don't _need_ an enhancer Quirk to be a handful. But that was you, wasn't it?" Aizawa set the papers he'd been grading — ain't no rest for the wicked. "Just as the Nomu hit you, you opened a crater."

"Sinkhole, probably," he corrected.

"A crater. Because everything richoteted and you managed to take out a good portion of the leftover villains." He eyed his drugged student. "I thought your Quirk was luck."

"It is. I've never been able to influence it to that magnitude, but it really is luck. I just. . . I took advantage of weaknesses that were already there."

Just this and just that. He held back his groan. "Explain."

Maybe it was the exhaustion or the painkillers obviously coursing through his veins that made him so talkative. "There was probably already beginning signs of... terrestrial— that's a real word right? I didn't make that up?—- terrestrial weaknesses that would _eventually_ have been some sinkholes or earth giving away, and I just exploited it by making it happen early."

"So you decayed it. Like you did with the robot for your entrance exam." Under the bandages, Izuku could _feel _ his grimace.

"Uh, I guess so? But not like disintegration. It's not like that. . . That Shigaraki guy? It's a lot more biologically based, I think." When Aizawa made no move to interrupt, Izuku scratched his head with his bandaged arm. "I think it's all rooted in atom decay. I mean, so you know how atoms have half-lives but it's not so accurate, because it's all based in probability. Atoms decay based on lost energy overtime, but what if bad luck can just. . . accelerate it, or mess with the electrons? And accelerate a lot of them?" He rubbed at his eye before yawning. "If I can 70% of the time roll a dice to be a six, why can't I be so lucky that tons of atoms decay mostly all at the same time if it's what I want?"

"Because you never said you had bad luck, or the ability to pass on good luck."

"I told you, my Quirk is luck."

Aizawa seemed to think of something. "Does that mean you made yourself unlucky?"

"Yep. Probably why my bones are in more pieces than they should be. But it's fine. This isn't the first time."

His teacher looked like he just opened Pandora's box. "There are other times?"

"Yep. It'll probably last a few days."

"_Days_?"

"It's a good thing classes are cancelled tomorrow. Thenurse told me." His eyes began to droop. There was a shortness of breath that made staying awake too much work. "I'll see you Thursday."

* * *

On Thursday, he opened the door too loudly, and all eyes turned to his blood shot pair and haggled appearance.

Sato paused in his conversation with Shoji to stare. "Hey, Midoriya, you don't look so good."

Kaminari paused, too, turning around with his arms held out lamely. "Yah, you look like a Zombie. You should've stayed home after everything."

With everything being the attack on the USJ just two days prior. It's just a shame his shitty luck has lasted this long. Maybe it's cuz he spent two days in the hospital mostly in the hospital with nothing going wrong except cold food and a nurse mixing up his IV drip. Other than that, Recovery Girl fixed the bulk of his injuries when she visited the hospital.

He rubbed at his burning eyes, the shampoo that got in them from his cold shower since the water heater broke left them stinging. "Can't. We have a test today."

A soft "_oh shit"_ escaped the other boy's mouth and he quickly pulled out his scribbled notes.

"Whoa— hey, are you limping?"

Izuku sat heavily in his chair before answering Sero. "Got hit by a car."

"Wait, What?!" Uraraka stood from her seat, Iida already leaning over to check the mobility of the boy's injured leg.

"It's a bad luck day."

Sero eyed Kirishima, who shrugged, before asking, "I thought you were just lucky?"

"Most of the time, but sometimes it bites back and I just have really unlucky days. Like my fire alarm kept going off last night so I couldn't sleep. Then there actually _was _a fire."

"Oh geez. Well, when's the last time you ate?"

"This morning. But that's what caught fire so it wasn't that good."

When he slumped in his chair and leaned forward with his head between his arms, everyone gave him a wide berth. He'll be fine eventually. And in truth, everyone was a bit on edge considering the events that transpired only days before.

Class ensued and test packets were handed out, Aizawa placing the packet on the desk rather than in the awaiting student's hands like he did for the others. Izuku sharpened his pencil lazily only for the friction to cause a spark that trailed onto the corner of the packet, engulfing it quickly into flames.

While Todoroki stared bug-eyed at this development, Izuku seemed prepared, pulling a plastic water bottle out of his backpack to put it out. He simply put the cap back on and raised his hand. "Can I get a new packet?"

Aizawa lowered the fire extinguisher that had been hidden behind his desk. "Your mother warned me."

Todoroki pulled out a small notebook and quickly scribbled down notes.

* * *

Izuku slumped next to Uraraka after completing their simulations. She thought, considering his "bad luck" today, he'd come back in a tattered uniform (frankly, she's more surprised Aizawa ok'd him for any exercises, especially with his limp from that morning), but it looked like he didn't get a single scratch. Still, he hid behind his bangs and buried his face between his knees. "I'm the worst."

_Oh? _"Pray tell."

"Kaminari hates me now."

Oh. She rolled her eyes at the statement. "You two were partnered together, right? I don't think there's much you can do to get him to hate you."

He lifted his head to stare at her like she grew a second head. "I accidentally hit him and when I tried to help him up I was trying to say 'are you okay?' And 'I'm sorry,' but it just came out as a screamed 'are you sorry!?'"

She looked over to a huddled Kaminari in Kirishima's arms. The boy in question looked over for only a second with tears in his eyes before hiding his face in Kirishima's bare chest.

Oh.

* * *

He cautiously took his seat at lunch, carefully checking the expiration label and seal to his applesauce once again. Food poisoning was horrible. He switched out his metal thermos for plastic so if anyone bumped him he wouldn't crack a tooth. Kacchan sat at the opposite end of the cafeteria with what he mentally called the Bakugang. All that chaotic energy in opposite corners of the room. He should be fine.

"Aren't you going to eat anything else?" He looked to Uraraka then her plate: divinely smelling chicken over steamed rice. His mouth watered at the thought of her offering him the plate 'til he reminded himself what day it was.

Every time he ate meat on those days, he found a bone. "I'm good. Something always goes wrong with my food, and I don't want to get anyone in trouble just because I'm having bad luck."

Iida set down his chopsticks, staring in awe. "Are you suggesting the firing of an employee? Does that happen often?"

"Uh, mostly? I don't know, it's just like everything can go wrong so I have to be careful with what I eat, say, and do because it not only sucks for me but for someone else, too. Like, if I don't clarify my words, someone can misinterpret. Or a fly landed in my food when no one was looking. That kind of thing. Or if I'm near Kacchan when there's food—"

He hadn't noticed the fight that broke out between Bakugo and Monoma or how Monoma dropped his tray in the other boy's lap. Neither did he witness the explosion that sent nearby food trays flying, but he did spot the rice pudding 1.3 seconds before it slapped against his face with a horrid squelching sound.

Beyond the pudge that coated his ears he heard the screams of Bakugo's other victims. He didn't have to look to know he was probably the worst.

"Uraraka."

"Yes?" She whispered, fearing of setting off another unlucky event.

"Float my into the sun, please."

* * *

All Might offered him a seat in his office in hopes of avoiding anymore incidences until lunch ended. He sat deflated at one of the couches pouring tea for him and his student who changed his top for his gym shirt. His hair was still damp from rinsing the pudge from it.

"So," the man started at he rested his elbows at the knees. He'd been waiting to ask. "Before I even made it to the door, you took out not only the biggest threat, but you tore up half of the USJ. Care to explain that?"

Ah, the boy scratched at his temple. "It's the same thing I did with the villain who attacked Kacchan," he explained. "I don't really understand the full mechanics, but sometimes I can, like, pull all the negative energy around me and give something really bad luck." He mimicked the action with his hands.

"And yourself too. I remember your concussion."

He shrugged. "My quirk revolves around luck, not just good luck. So when I have a lot of good luck for a long time, there's just this pent up bad luck waiting to happen, if that makes any sense. It's like my Quirk has to balance out. And if I concentrate, I can sort of ensure bad luck happens around me, if not to me, too. So with Kacchan I just had too much pent up and my luck turned bad right around then on its own."

Which was why Izuku had been taken to the hospital after a good scolding and Bakugo's laser glare, a mild concussion and a sprained wrist.

Which was why Izuku had laid in the hospital with both his arms in cast and his chest shattered and Iida thinking he'd been too late.

But that would mean— "So this happens often?" All Might asked in awe. "Even when you don't use your Quirk?"

"I think it makes it worse, like I'm holding back all the bad luck and it just burst."

His teacher scratched at his chin. "How odd."

"I know, it sucks."

"Hey, remember what I told you that day?"

"_YOUR SAFE NOW CITIZEN!"_

"No. I told you something I came to regret. I told you you couldn't be a hero, and you know what you did?"

"Got my ass handed to me?"

"You proved me wrong. You acted without hesitation, didn't care that you knew it was going to probably be a bad luck day since you hadn't been using your Quirk effectively, and you saved your classmate's life. They tell us heroes never to overestimate ourselves, but you need to stop underestimating your own ability. Even without luck, you're strong willed and obnoxious to the point you drew that villain's attention away from your classmate when the rest of us heroes stood back and watched. You got guts. So don't go around thinking you're here on accident, you got that?"

Izuku searched for something. Whatever he found, it made him smile. "Yah. Yah, okay." The boy lifted his tea cup to his lips.

"Just remember if you ever need anything—"

He halted when Izuku spit out his tea dropping the cup. The boy nearly screamed as the scalding got earl grey spilt onto his pants.

Guess it's back to the locker room.

* * *

"Hey, um, what's that for?"

Sato began unrolling the bubble wrap just as Sero ripped off the tape from his arms.

"I'm sorry, Izuku, but this is for your own good!"

* * *

"Deku! How did you do on the test? What'd you get for question 9?"

He stocked forward with unbendable knees from all the bubble rap, feeling like Mr. Marshmallow Man. He couldn't even see his feet. "Ah sorry, Uraraka," he panted around his bubble wrapped football helmet and screen protector. It was getting hot. "But I can't walk and _talk_ at the same time right now, so if you wouldn't mind-"

Not realizing the banana peel— yah, you heard right, banana peel— Izuku's feet lifted off and his outstretched arms smacked the student who'd been trying to get around him and his eight layers of bubbly protection. A clash of metal echoed from the floor.

"My babies!"

"Ah, sorry!" At least he wasn't injured this time, he guessed.

And they weren't actual babies, thank god.

* * *

Izuku wouldn't deny he was touched when half the class decided to escort him home.

He just didn't like that their solution to his bubble wrapped legs wasn't to cut him out of it but to put him on a dog sled with Ashido up front dropping toxic slime for ease. Which is very much illegal.

But when an officer only gave them a warning he sighed in relief.

This bad luck trip was over.

And just in time for U.A.'s sports festival.


	4. Chapter 4

Izuku entered school late compared to the rest of his class, and he took notice of the chatter around the room.

"What's going on?"

Iida happily filled him in. "The sports festival is proceding on schedule."

His heart seized.

Oh yah, he forgot this is a prolific school and that thousands tune in to watch once a year like it was the Super Bowl. Being so close by had lost its charm overtime, similarly to living down the road from Disneyland loses its magic.

"At least this year they won't have to censor anything. No one can phase through their clothes right?" Chirped Uraraka.

"You say that like Mineta won't try anything." The group looked over to the student who sat with his head tilted back and tissues in his bloody nose.

"Choppy from 1-B got'em," noted Sero. "I even caught it on video."

As a part of the class swarmed around Sero, Izuku slumped back in his chair. Mom would surely write a note to get him out of it this year..

But he was in UA now. There wasn't any turning back. The world would see him eventually, it's just now he gets to control of when and how.

"Hey, Deku, you okay?"

He unclenched his first. "Yep!" He said earnestly, turning to Uraraka. "Ready to kick some ass."

Students trickled in as well as their teacher and class presumed with an excited energy about it.

"In spite of recent events, the sports festival will continue as usual. That being said, you have one week to prep. Extra gym time will be available after school in gamma only. If there are any issues, especially about participation, you are welcome to come talk to me."

Izuku could feel those bloodshot eyes on him.

"Otherwise, class is dismissed."

The students rose and gathered in excitement while others wandered off on their own. Interesting, he thought Kirishima had worked his way into Kacchan's cold dead heart, but that doesn't seem to be the case and the redhead parted ways.

"Midoriya, a word."

He should have known.

He smiled as he waved off Uraraka. Iida had already left.

Aizawa waited until Izuku stood just before his desk before carefully searching his face, putting down what graded assignment he'd been working on. Based on the number of marks, it's probably Karminari's.

"I want you to know you are not obligated to be in the festival."

"I know," he said. Principal Nedzu had already said so at the beginning of the year. It felt so long ago. "But I want to do this."

"Are you going to be okay with the consequences?"

"Isn't that all my Quirk is?" He didn't know how much his teacher knew, but it had to be enough to extend the offer to pull him out. "I think I'm ready to be seen." And he was. He would make his father proud.

"Okay."

* * *

Todoroki, who hadn't spoken to him so far in the school year, came up to him in the locker room. **"**Speaking objectively, I'm stronger than you."

"Yah, no duh."

"And yet All Might has his eye on you."

Oh, Jesus.

"I've trained my whole life and I won't let you get in my way. Let this be a declaration of war."

He didn't even finish tying his shoes when he stood up. "Ugh, Todoroki? I literally am just lucky and have no control of it. Of course, you're stronger. But __I __, like everyone else, am gonna give it my all. I won't just lie down and take it, okay? It's not just me."

A snort came from the class sounding a lot like Kacchan.

"Anyway, none of us are going down without a fight."

He wasn't dumbstruck by his aggressiveness, but Todoroki's eyes did widen a fraction which may have well been a meltdown considering the little emotion Izuku has seen from him.

"Besides," he added with a smirk, "I get what I want."

* * *

He guessed it wasn't possible to be subtle.

"Here comes Lucky Day Midoriya of 1-A, literally blasting past the competition. Who knew the land mines could project anyone so accurately! But I guess that's what a Quirk like Luck can do!"

Aizawa groaned beside his very loud coworker.

"Ohh, this is gonna be a tough landing! Hope he doesn't hit our leads Todoroki and Baku—" the crowd roared over the commentary. "WHOA! Aizawa, did you see that!?"

"No."

"Right. Before he can even land, Midoriya uses his makeshift slide to set off one more bomb to put him in first place! Bakugo's fuming! And he sticks the landing! Ladies and gentlemen, we have here our winner for the first round of the sports festival: Class 1-A's Midoriya, followed by his classmates Todoroki and Bakugo!"

* * *

This was bad. Despite the presentation of his Quirk, no one wanted to team up with him. Uraraka smile behind him, worriedly watching as their own classmates ignored them.

"One million!"

Izuku turned, boring the girls pink hair and golden eyes. Oh shit, that's— "oh forgive me!" He bowed to her. "I'm sorry for making you drop your things the other day."

"Please, my babies deserved it. You pointed out a major flaw: their durability! Which is why I want you!" She said as she poked his chest.

"Me?"

"Who better to test my babies than Lucky Day?"

"Please don't call me that."

"Please don't call him that," repeated Uraraka.

The girl leant back with her hands on her hips. "I'm Hatsune Mei. Now, let's win this and show the world what my babies can do!"

But they needed one more. He knew they just needed one more, someone to skew the odds in their favor, and he had an incredible idea. Maybe it was studpid for principle Nedzu to speak with him privately to help him be put in a classroom that wouldn't impact his Quirk or others. It meant, that he knew the perfect trump card sat in 1-B.

The blonde figure looked over after the tap on his shoulder. Midoriya smiled brightly in such a way that the baring of his teeth shown viciously.

"Yo, I know you wanna crush my class, and you can— go for it. But I got a question involving your Quirk: What happens when there's two of the luckiest people on earth on the same team?"

When Monoma caught on, he grinned back. He hushed his former teammate before they could protest. "Sorry guys, no hard feeling. Just an experiment."

Monoma shook Midoriya's hand.

* * *

The jetpack worked better than expected, letting the four of them fly laps around the grounded contestants and swiftly dodging an enraged blasting Bakugo. It dove past a wave of ice and slipped through the tape lasso, and when they barrel-rolled just past Bakugo, who's team had just caught him, Uraraka cheered excitedly at her captured reward, a single bandana.

"Now for that Todoroki-idiot!" shouted Monoma.

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea—Wha-HEY!"

Suddenly the jetpack dipped them down, the right side stalling and they dived. He heard Uraraka scream and latch on his side. "Monoma!" Then it veered up, level with the ground as they sped towards the team currently holding the most points. Everything in Izuku demanded they stop. Iida noticed them first, and before Monoma's hand could grip the bandana at the back of that half-and-half head, they disappeared.

Or rather, were on the other side of the stadium, a trail pounding, heated feet right to where they stopped.

They landed not so lightly, and Uraraka leaned to the side to puke, releasing her Quirk while she was at it.

"Dammit!"

"Monoma!"

Mei noticed first. "Oh my god, Midoriya."

He felt the top of his head for the bandana that wasn't there. The only one left was the 665 points from team Bakugo around his neck, the same team heading straight for them. "Monoma, you moron." Izuku kicked the side of the jet pack as it spurred to life and they shot up with their full weight forcing the pack to hover.

Bakugo, two bandanas around his neck, had just shot up at them when Present Mic called for time, and the teams fell back to the stadium. Bakugo grit his teeth and Izuku smiled back, spinning the bandana on his finger.

"My, my," Monoma inquired just as Kirishima gripped Bakugo by the shoulder as he shouted at them. "You think him to be more a dog than a hero."

Izuku pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed. "The next time you want something, give the rest of us a chance to talk you out of it."

"I thought you didn't care about going after 1-A."

"I don't, but I do care how you use my Quirk."

"Everything worked out, in the end. I hope they pit us against each other," he said as a goodbye, waving and walking towards the 1-B teams that passed. Only his, Todoroki, and Bakugo's teams made it through to the final game, the rest picked off by the few 1-B teams still standing.

* * *

"Must be nice. With Quirks like your class, you didn't even have to try to get everyone to love you. You'll never know how it feels having to fight for everything, fighting for a spot in UA when you got yours handed to you on a silver platter."

Silence. Midoriya stood ready.

Shinsou sneered. "And you think luck is a real fucking Quirk?"

"You think-"

__Gotcha. __He grinned wide as the boy's face blanked, and he commanded him, "Turn around and step out of bounds."

Everything was in place. Another stupid hot head down and he himself walking towards first place. This was gonna be a piece of cake if everyone in the hero course is like this. He put his hands in his pockets, beginning to turn himself for when the announcer declared his win, never noticing how Izuku's untied shoelaces would act as his saving grace.

Then he felt it: the burning sun hurtling towards him without mercy.

He glanced back to the Midoriya boy, who stared back still laying on concrete from his fall, the loss of focus having released his hold, and Shinsou thought lasers would shoot out of his eyes.

Yamada grinned inside the commentary booth, muting his mic to reminisce the boy's entrance exams. "Still don't think Luck is a Quirk, huh?"

Aizawa didn't even hesitate. "Luck will be the death of me."

That didn't stop the boos from the crowd.

Yamada sighed. "Sounds like your matches."

"People just want something flashy," Aizawa said. "And when they don't get it?" Well, he didn't win his own sports festival but he sure as hell proved himself to his classmates, if not to the public. "He'll deal with this for most of his life, people not believing him or not thinking it's suitable for hero work."

Yamada seemed to think on that before turning back on his microphone to commentate for the next match.

* * *

Standing in front of Todoroki, after everything he learned, left a heavy weight in his chest. And a part of him understood exactly where he was coming from, but Izuku learned long ago that his Quirk hadn't just been his father's. If it had, maybe he would still be here today.

So when he stood in front of someone who was lucky enough to be someone strong, agile, and the resources to be more than just what his father wanted, he stood ready with a simple staff he'd already registered as his support item.

He sidestepped the first incredible wave of ice with ease and rushed forward bringing the staff down like a sledgehammer, only for Todoroki to roll away. Todoroki should have the advantage, but every swipe of ice towards his opponent missed tremendously. Cementoss shouted for him to not aim at the audience.

Shit. He dodged another swipe.

Izuku must have noticed the ice refusing to melt off of him, coating his face in frost, and aimed for his right side. He shot out spikes that shattered between Izuku's twirling staff. And when Izuku tried to rush him, Shoto tried the same trick he did at the obstacle course, freezing the ground and anyone standing on it.

"Why won't you give your all? You think you're better than me because you can control your Quirk? You think you're gonna hurt me?" He stepped forward, his approved staff made by the support department twirling between his fingers before stomping it against the ice just barely coating his left leg. The ends were already heated up, giving the staff an orange yellow glow at each end like molten metal. As if he knew he'd be fighting Todoroki.

But that's just his luck, huh?

"What happens when your little 50% isn't enough, huh? What happens when your ice isn't enough and instead of saying 'I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough,' you say 'I'm sorry I didn't try?'"

He had lost feeling in his fingers some time ago.

"All of us are out here giving our all. How dare you?!" Izuku breathed heavily, wiping sweat from his brow. "My luck usually turns out pretty good. This fight doesn't end 'til I get what I want."

That was ominous. To win? Or something else?

Lost in thought, he lifted his arm to block before the baton could hit his temple.

"Don't you get it? It's your Quirk, not his! Get it through your thick skull, already."

There came a sharp pain, when the baton just barely sideswiped him, singing his clothes, but the metal connecting with his skin at such an angle hurt more.

"You think I let others judge my Quirk? I've been yelling at you and everyone else for that. It's my Quirk, my power, and it doesn't go away just like how your fire doesn't either. Now, get over yourself and actually fight me!"

Izuku brought his staff back down, aiming for—

The boy grabbed it bare handed. Todoroki held the molten staff bare handed, as his own left side bled in flames bursting in such heat for Izuku to have to let go and back away.

Now we're talking.

"C'mon," Izuku said, holding his fist up. "Give me your all!".

From then on, Izuku didn't stand a chance. In time, the gust of flames forced him to step out of bounds or get his face burnt off.

* * *

****Before the Festival . . . ****

He combed through his records again, filing away updated physicals and Quirk records. He expected it from the recommended students. Rich families choose when they want to do things and that includes providing required documents. But what he didn't expect, or at this point should've, is for the glaring whole in Midoriya's file. He'd already notified Ms. Midoriya at the beginning of the semester but of no avail.

Well, he did say he would update her on her son and his no good very bad unlucky day.

He found her number and called.

It hadn't even completed its first ring before he heard her resonated voice. "What did he break?"

"Nothing I've been made aware of, Ms. Midoriya. He actually should be on his way home with some students escorting him."

"Oh, thank god." He could only imagine her anxiety every time he walked out the door. "And please, call me Inko."

"Inko. And thank you again for the call ahead. The fire extinguisher almost came in handy."

He could hear the smile in her voice. "You're welcome. I'm just glad it went better than his first week in middle school. His teacher announced her early retirement that year."

"It's not an easy profession."

"I can't imagine." He heard her shift, and something clatter. Probably doing the dishes. "Was there anything you needed from me? Any property damage? Parent phone calls?"

"No, nothing like that. However," he started flipping through his student records, "I noticed a lack of information on your son's Quirk. Both when he applied and was fully accepted, his Quirk records were lacking. I was hoping you could forward them to me?"

"Ah," she said. There was a pregnant pause he hadn't expected. It is a normal request for any student in public or private school. "The principal hasn't informed you then?"

He quickly wrote on a sticky note to make an appointment ASAP. "He hadn't. Was there an issue?"

"Partially. I'm sure you've seen the extent of my son's Quirk. . . There's no way he stood back when you were— were attacked."

He sat up straight, as he said, "He did not. While I don't agree that he took initiative, he saved his classmates." He wasn't sure where she was going with this.

"My son has a unique quirk. A valuable quirk. And it's too easy to take advantage of."

He remained silent. He could so easily see the potential of exploitation. Hell, Midoriya even refused to complete his test in fear of taking advantage. If casinos didn't require basic ID since the rise of Quirks, he'd be having a hay day and his mother's feet kicked up on a beach somewhere. But he was on the blacklist, Izuku had told him.

"When he was little," Inko said softly, "both he and his father were followed."

Oh.

"My husband's Quirk wasn't as stable," she said then snorted to herself. "Not that Izuku's is either, but his had harder extremes. It wasn't easy to hide and he became a target. So they pushed him and my son into a van the police said were yakuza only for it to crash." She paused. Her breath hitched.

"You don't have to tell me. I understand." His file would have been pulled from public records and even schools would have limited access with the worst of his Quirk explained verbally to those on a need to know basis. Fingers would be crossed that information never slipped to anyone with ill intentions— not that Izuku's been silent about it. He must have faith in the school.

"Zuku's a good kid. He was so happy when he got his acceptance letter, and his father would be so proud."

The most prolific hero school in the country. Which reminded him.

"Ms. Midoriya—"

"Inko."

"Inko, I'm sure you're aware the school holds a sports festival each year. He might be on camera depending on how he does." He didn't think he even had the authority, but he'd make sure it's done. "If you like, I will pull him from the competition."

She hummed. "I appreciate it, but I think I'm going to leave it up to Izuku this time. He's a little too smart, a bit naive, but I trust his judgement."

"The world will see him." He said it slow and careful.

"They would eventually. He's never been one to sit still."

"Okay." This wouldn't be an easy school year, not with how it's going so far. And yet he hardly understood whatever this luck Quirk was, it's limits and patterns. "Inko, I know you've gone to great lengths to keep his Quirk hidden from public records. As his teacher, his safety is above everything else. Which is why I want to apologize for what happened to Izuku under my care."

"You've already apologized and already been forgiven. You couldn't foresee that invasion and Izuku said you did everything you could to get everyone out."

Not without Shigaraki almost pulverizing her son's face. Nonetheless, "Even so, what I'm concerned about is that because I am not aware of his limitations, I am unable to read what he can handle and what is too much. It's been a guessing game so far of what will go well for him or not. As his teacher, it is my job to assess and improve his skills to the best of my ability. I was hoping, even if you may not have physical records, that you can tell me a little more about his Quirk."

She seemed to consider it. "I can't say much. It's been a sore spot for him in school. But i can say this."

He waited patiently for her to collect her thoughts.

"I don't think he's as out of control as he says he is. I think he has pull in getting what he wants, just not what the means will be to get it."

* * *

There was no hesitation. He'd been thinking on this name for years now.

He placed the board out for the other students to see.

"Domino."

"Lovely. A nod to your domino effect, I see. You sure you wouldn't like Lucky Day?"

"No."


End file.
